We found that agricultural practices themselves account for around 80 percent of these emissions, but the combined contribution of transport, refrigeration, consumer practices and waste management is growing, as economies develop. In the UK, for example, emissions from agricultural practices are currently about 40 percent of the total food systems emissions

In many countries, the concept of reducing food miles has caught on with consumers, and food retailers and restaurants are scrambling to provide customers local, ‘climate-friendly’ alternatives to imported foodstuffs. But is this really enough?

As the research shows, the distance food travels from the farm to your plate is only part of the overall emissions equation. Instead we should be looking at everything that happens “from fertiliser to fork” according to Sonja Vermeulen, lead author and head of research for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Global and national solutions

A key entry point for cutting emissions from food systems is reducing the contribution of agriculture to deforestation. We must support globally coordinated efforts that reduce deforestation, which is often driven by expansion of farmlands. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has recognised how deforestation contributes to global GHG emissions, and since 2010 has backed a program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

Improving efficiency of production through sustainable agricultural intensification. This includes adopting methods where less nitrogen and methane is emitted per unit of food produced.

Calculating our food’s footprint ‘from fertiliser to fork’

If food miles are only part of the equation, then a full analysis for one commodity would include, among other factors, emissions from fertiliser, costs related to heating greenhouses, and transport and refrigeration. And finding low-cost opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the food chain sometimes produces counter-intuitive results.

We have not yet looked beyond the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the emissions footprint of our food. We need an intensive research effort that studies the different food commodities in different contexts; only then can we truly understand where reductions are possible and feasible.